Finding Our Own Way
by SailorSlytherin93
Summary: Set in the Deathly Hallows... As Hermione tries to run away from the dangers of war and unrequited love, she bumps into someone who's life unexpectedly reflects her own. Will similarities overcome differences? Can the past ever truly be forgiven and forgotten? Hermione G./Draco M. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Anywhere But Here

_**Summary: As Hermione tries to run far away from the war, societies views on her and her love for Ron, she bumps into someone unexpectedly looking for an escape as well. Will their similarities overcome their differences? Hermione G/Draco M. Rated M for future chapters. Hopefully the story is better than the summary to you guys!**_

_**Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, Tom Felton would have been locked in my basement right after the filming of all the movies for my- *ahem*- enjoyment.**_

Hermione reluctantly grabbed Harry's awaiting hand asking her for a dance. Wearing the locket at the time, she honestly wasn't in a dancing mood. Sulking seemed like the better option at the moment. So there she stood, trying to figure out why the bloody hell she was standing in the middle of their tent like a shell of a person. Harry tilted his head, showed a soft smile and realized what was wrong, getting close to Hermione's neck. As soon as he took off the cursed locket, the weight of darkness ceased to choke Hermione's happiness away. He gave her a goofy grin and rocked her arms back and forth to the music. Finally, a smile grew upon her face as she played along, rocking a little bit more and even spinning around a few times.

_Merlin, I wish it would stay like this…not having a war to worry about, making happy memories with my friends and family…and love. Having Weasley on the end of my name has always been a fantasy, but right now, with everything going on, it's more of a need than a want._

Harry pulled Hermione closer into a friendly embrace as they slowly swayed to the music. The warmth of her best friend relaxed her as she laid her head onto his shoulder. A battered Hogwarts, blood everywhere and flashes of green light went through her mind, causing her to gasp roughly.

"You doing alright there, Mione?" The boy who lived asked as if it was normal for people to randomly have deathly gasps of air. Then again nothing was normal about anything anymore, so it all had to be dealt with the same.

"Harry…do we really have to fight? I mean can't we just stay here; grow old, without any fear for once?" she whispered in a rushed voice as if she didn't want to hear herself say it. In all honesty, she cursed herself for saying such a thing out loud. A Gryffindor giving up? Preposterous. But some things just cross the line…

"If that's what you want, we will. Only if that's really what you want." He whispered in her ear, the smile heard through his tone.

Hermione suddenly looked up at him, confusion written all over her face. She wondered why they were still swaying when she became aware of the lack of music in the room. She searched his face for approval and seriousness to his answer. _Was it really that easy?_

Harry's eyes shot up in alarm and Hermione's followed, jaw dropping to the sudden shock and guilt.

There stood Ron Weasley with a look of anger and confusion on his face at the scene before him: Harry and Hermione in what seemed to be an intimate embrace, in the process of initiating a snog session—that is, before Ron ran in.

"I followed your voice—YOUR voice, just to get back to this? I would've rather suffered through the bloody Cruciatus curse than see you with my best friend." His voice broke off as he tried to hold back his tears. If looks could kill, Harry and Hermione would be _Avada_-ed right where they stood.

"Ron, this isn't what-"

"Bloody hell it's not what it looks like! So what, you two just have a snog fest whenever you feel like it, right? Wonder-fucking-ful. Good to know you've been leading me to think otherwise, Hermione."

Hermione felt her face get hot, more aggravated than hurt right now, "You have some nerve to talk after YOU leaving us, Ronald! I'm sorry for-"

"Sorry for what? For being a bloody whore?"

Harry finally intervened after what felt like an eternity. "Ron, we didn't do anything. We were just dancing; it was my doing."

Ron completely ignored Harry's comment, but noted how he defensively got in front of Hermione, who now had tears flowing down her face.

_Why does he have to be such an arse sometimes? I haven't gotten any bloody sleep since he's left and he thinks I'm moving on to the next best thing. _She confused herself with the last part of her comment. _Is Harry really the next best thing? I mean, it's not like I've really known much else, except Viktor Krum…_She shuddered._ Well, if Ron doesn't want me anymore because he feels I'm tainted…A bloody mudblood…_More tears came streaming down…_Then…_

As she was lost in her thoughts, Ron finished cursing at Harry and finally yelled at her, "Well? You gonna speak up or just sit there because you know it's all bloody true! You fucking—"

She bolted out the tent opening, thankful that she had her wand and purse on her, because she had no plans on going back. Ever. Her body made the decision for her; she wasn't going to be a part of anything that made her hurt like this again. War, heartbreak…nothing of the sort. Not anymore.

Her tears had blurred her vision and for a while she didn't care the least bit. She kept running, the cold freezing her tear- drenched face, branches whipping at her from all sides and tearing small cuts into her clothes, and voices of her past becoming more and more faint as the distance between them became greater. She could care less where she was going, until she went through the protective shields she casted to keep them safe from snatchers. Everything ached as she went through the charms, and she couldn't hold on much longer.

Dropping to her knees, she cried out, cursing everything that put her in the position she was in right now. No parents to go back to, no friends that she hasn't already put in danger by being out here, nowhere safe to go -seeing as she obliviated her parents memory, was a mudblood and a tears blinded her and drained her energy as she found no other option but to lie on the cold ground, in the middle of the forest, and close her eyes. She was tired of fighting…

The brown haired Gryffindor grumbled and pulled some covers over her head as she felt a slight breeze creep up on her. _Wait…covers? _Her brain slowly registered and replayed everything that occurred what seemed to be last night, and things weren't exactly falling into place.

"It's about time you woke up, Granger," a deep, smooth voice intruded on her thoughts, followed by the smell of coffee and eggs.

She quickly jumped up, searching for her wand, realizing after a moment that she was unarmed…in front of a death eater. She wished it was Bellatrix Lestrange instead.

She looked around, wondering how and when she got here. She heard herself speak in a stern whisper; "What am I doing here?"

"Well I couldn't just leave you die out there, could I?" The young death eater said, matter of factly.

_Could he?_

**Author's Note: Alright everyone! This is my first fan fiction so go easy on me. Or you know, you don't really have to. This is a one-shot until I find enough readers invested in it. Hope you liked it! **


	2. Breakfast?

**Author's Note: OMG Thank you all for the overwhelming amount of emails alerting me that people have favorited and put my story on their alerts. It makes me *tear* so happy. Please don't hesitate to review your favorite parts and not so favorites as well! It makes me better at satisfying you, the reader.**

**So for all of you, here's chapter 2!**

**Disclaimer: I think I, wait for it…nope. Still don't own Harry Potter.**

"I'm quite positive you could. In fact, I'd rather you had; I'd feel a bit safer, ironically…" Hermione said smugly, with the last part under her breath. Hermione looked around anxiously at her surroundings and at the young Death Eater standing before her making breakfast, as if they haven't been enemies for six years now. _No seriously, when did I get here? And is this…a tent? What's Draco doing in a tent?_

"You know you really shouldn't mumble, Granger; it's quite unattractive." Draco decided to respond back, instead of entertaining her curiosity of why he saved her from lying out there to rot in the middle of the forest. Why the bloody hell was he being nice to her again? He was trying to figure this out himself. "Breakfast?" he asked impassively, not looking her way.

Hermione pressed her lips together in a thin line and glared. _I'm not falling for that! Bloody git will end up poisoning me! I knew this nice charade would only last so long…_"I'm not hungry," she finally stated irritably. Her words and body actions weren't agreeing, however, for not too long after that was said her stomach yelled louder than a troll that stubbed its toe. _Damn it, you couldn't just be silent for once?_

"Heh, I'll take that as a yes," quickly fixing her a plate of eggs and toast and setting it in her lap slowly. As his hand brushed her leg, she felt a fiery sensation hit her core and blushed as she looked down. Draco and Hermione's eyes met, sharing a smile without even showing one. The comfortable silence lingered, until Hermione became aware of her surroundings again.

She disturbingly coughed to break the silence. "Neverthless, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Malfoy Manor torturing mudbloods?" She stated icily as her honey eyes flickered with fire. Draco suddenly looked down in guilt, but retaliated firmly.

"…I don't do that anymore. Besides, does it really matter why I'm here? If I wasn't, you probably would've frozen to death or worse, gotten picked up by snatchers." She looked in his eyes, seeing the concern wear on his face and his silvery blue eyes darken. "So," trying to change the subject to her, "what were you doing lying out there anyways?"

Hermione felt her eyes flood, blinding her from Draco's gaze, but not daring to shed a tear. _Gryffindors are stronger than that._ Or so she wanted to think.

_"Ron, this isn't what-"_

_"Bloody hell it's not what it looks like! So what, you two just have a snog fest whenever you feel like it, right? Wonder-fucking-ful. Good to know you've been leading me to think otherwise, Hermione."_

_Hermione felt her face get hot, more aggravated than hurt right now, "You have some nerve to talk after YOU leaving us, Ronald! I'm sorry for-"_

_"Sorry for what? For being a bloody whore?"_

As the moment replayed in her head, it made it harder for her hold her tears back any longer.

"What? Needed to have a good cry after an argument with the Weasel? Scarhead leave you in the woods alone because your services were no longer needed?" Every word slurred out of his mouth like it was air, but to her, every word was excruciating pain. She'd rather be Avadaed than remember them again. The waterfall commenced as she ran to the closest being around; Draco Malfoy.

He tensed up upon impact of the honey haired muggle-born clinging to him for dear life and crying her eyes out. Eventually though, when he realized he was all she had now, as awkward as that seemed, he soothingly rubbed her back in small circles, trying his best to console her. "Um, there there, everything will be…alright," he awkwardly stammered, not really knowing what to say. _I'm not too skilled in the comfort department, not like I had anyone there for me…_

It was then he realized why he saved her from the forest. Being there for someone, taking care of another being; better than his parents ever did with him, was his main goal. He wanted to escape from the threat of becoming cold hearted like the ones around him, and possibly dying due to the war. He knew he wasn't like them, especially after smiled in Hermione's direction at the Yule Ball, in her beautiful periwinkle pink dress, soft brown curls falling gracefully. And now he had her…in his arms, but didn't know what to do.

He finally smiled, realizing his goal, "…I'll make sure of it," and kisses the top of his crying muggle-born.


	3. Parallel Minds

**OMG OMG OMG it's been so long! I'm so sorry guys! Multiple writer's blocks, college, and jovial idiots have prevented me from added fuel to this wonderful fire that I'm making between this lovely forbidden couple. Anyways, I hope it was worth the wait. Tell me if you guys want longer chapters or not when you review please!**

**Disclaimer: JK Rowling is the genius that has fueled my imagination, tis not my own other than the plot development and possible characters. **

It had been almost a week since Draco had acquired the muggle-born bookworm as a roommate. Although it wasn't the same as their Hogwarts days, the tension still blanketed the room like morning dew. Tension of what exactly, neither of them knew, but it definitely had a hostile edge. Draco was drinking tea by the window, enjoying the tranquility of his new un-Death Eater-like life. Hermione was curled up in the corner of her bed, and had been that way all morning, reading _Hogwarts: A History Vol. 126_. Draco turns to look at her contently while she furrows her brow, getting even deeper into her book.

_Heh, is she always this serious? I haven't seen her even crack the smallest smile since she's gotten here. Well, I shouldn't expect it seeing as we haven't had the friendliest past. Jeez, I've been a prick over the years. Still, someone had to teach that woman sometime in her life …I bet she glows…-_Little did Draco know, a frizzy haired bookworm was smiling at him through her thick, amber bangs.

_Is he-smiling at me? He couldn't possib- Merlin, it looks so inviting…Oi! Hermione what are you thinking? This is still the guy that tortured you for half of your life and was sent to kill Dumbledore!-and saved your life- _Hermione's soft smile turned into a smug look as the thoughts within her head of the ferret across the room combated for priority.

Hermione noticed his lips forming words and decided to interject the silence.

"What's that?" was all she could muster up to say. _Good job, _she says to herself.

"Oh, I was just thinking to myself out loud. Did you hear my mind spill?" Draco sternly said, as to show that he didn't want questions asked.

"Umm, well…not exactly. Never mind then," as she immediately goes back to her book as to avoid his gaze. Yes, he was _still _staring at her. _What does he want from me? He's got his gaze of hunger upon him…like he's possessed or something._

A big sigh comes from the Slytherin prince as he places his tea cup in the sink and starts to wash the few dishes in there. He whistles a tune while he washes the dishes; Hermione recognizes it as a song from a muggle band.

"Is that…you know Savage Garden? Isn't that beneath the pureblood culture?" Hermione didn't mean to sound snarky in her response to his whistling.

He was thrown aback at first, but smiled while he responded. "It was an accident how I came upon it actually. I was walking down Diagon Alley when I heard that song playing from a bistro that had just opened. I walked and closed my eyes to listen to the lyrics," He closed his eyes and began to sing to himself, "…'cause I'm counting on, A new beginning, A reason for living, A deeper meaning, yeah… Yeah, I realized that those word s were gonna mean something to me someday. And well, here I am."

"So you wanted a new beginning as well…" Her thoughts escaped through her lips.

"Is that why I found you laying you in the woods that night?" His face gave off a concerned look.

"Uh well," She desperately needed a subject change, "I fell…really hard. You know how concussions go." She tried to laugh it off, but could tell from face that he wasn't buying it.

"Yeah, like hell you fell. I didn't find a book around you, so that couldn't be it. Was there something going on in that bushy head of yours? Something that took so much of your focus, making you fall? Knowing you, it was intentional. Someone had to provoke it, just like Weasely did first year. You ran to the bathroom to cry but ran into a troll instead. You always run off crying, and the way your face looked when I found you that night, you had definitely been crying." Draco now looked at her with a victorious face, as if he solved a mystery, "So, let's try this again. What, or who, made you run away crying in the middle of the forest?"

Hermione couldn't help but give a confused yet guilty look at him. It seems as if he knew so much about her and yet she had been close-minded all these years to know anything about him other than the main three things everyone else knew about him: He's a pureblood, he's rich, and he's a Death Eater.

She gave a big sigh and looked at him with a "please don't judge me" glare. "I ran away because I just didn't care about the war anymore. I didn't want to think about running for my life, losing all the people I love, or worrying about whether what I'm fighting for is really worth dying for. They were all just thoughts running through my head, but then Weasely," she paused at the use of Malfoy's name for him, "Ron saw me and Harry dancing and immediately jumped to conclusions. What really frustrated me though was the way he decided to spill his heart out and degrade me at the same time. I mean he's always had the most unorthodox way of telling me things last minute when there was nothing I could do and blaming me for said things, but this time…he crossed the line. The names I can take; but not from him."

Draco lightly touched her shoulder as to console her. "What did he call you?" asking as if he was going to apparate to Ron and Harry's tent and whollop him in the nose.

She looked down as she let out a sniffle, "Mudblood."

The Slytherin prince's eyes widened. His past hit him harder than the Whomping Willow ever could, right into his heart. He knew how much that word hurt Hermione and the others like her, and yet back then, he said it anyways to get a rise out of them and keep up the Malfoy name. He was always obligated to keep appearances due to his blood status. It sickened the hell out of him..but it didn't matter anymore. The more he thought about how he found Hermione that night and his night alone in the woods, away from titles, blood status, and the war; he realized that they were more alike than what met the eye. Now they had to depend on each other to stay alive, despite all the death that was to come around them .

At that moment, Draco opened up his arms to allow her to fit perfectly inside them.


	4. Off to Market We Go

**Agh! I'm a terrible person! What kind of author leaves their readers high and dry for months on end for the next chapter? Apparently me. *sighs* I'm sorry. I hope you can find it in your wonderful hearts to forgive me. I know where the next chapter is going and I'm off of school for a month so you won't have to wait as long this time. I know this chapter is short, but I wanted to give you guys something, before KATDADDY2000 drives me crazy. So here it is! Hope you like it! Read and Review please!**

**Disclaimer: Alas, the visions of me owning the idea of Harry Potter is a mere fantasy. Damn fortune tellers.**

"Draco! Where the bloody hell are the bangers? I can't keep eating eggs without some bangers!"

She searched frantically on her knees and huffed her frazzled bangs out her face. She picked up the few items from the fridge several times as if her to-be breakfast would appear all of a sudden.

The Slytherin prince tilted her head at the sight and chuckled to himself, getting louder by the second and almost toppling over an ottoman. "Language, Granger; it's very unbecoming of a young lady to utter such words," flashing his trademark Malfoy smirk. "Blimey, you forget about the war and all you have left to stress about are bloody 'bangers'.

Hermione gave him a look and stared at the floor. "Didn't know we were on last name basis again, Malfoy," she stated under her breath. She didn't quite understand why she appreciated Draco's use of her first name so much. Maybe it helped her forget the fact that they were enemies, and ultimately the war and life she left behind. Perhaps it was the way it flowed off his tongue that made him seem…a tad bit…attractive?

His voice echoed her name in the back of her head, seeming to put her into a trance as she smiled. When her eyes started to sleepily close, she realized the voice of the ice grey blonde was getting louder in her head, and louder, and—

"Hermione!"

Her eyes flashed open while tumbling back and hitting her head on the island; causing the bowl of fruit to tumble upon her head. "Ouuuch," she grumbled; rubbing her head and giving Draco an awkward glare.

"You may be the brightest witch of our age, but you sure can be daft sometimes."

Looking at her previous thoughts, her face flushed red. "What happened?"

"I could ask you the same thing. One minute you're grumbling things under your breath, and the next you're staring into space like you're in Professor Trelawney's crazy Divination class. I kept yelling your name but you wouldn't respond," he shuffled awkwardly, "until, well, you did."

"Oh," was all she could get out. She couldn't possibly tell him what made her space out, or rather, all of it. "I was just thinking, we should stay on a first name basis, since we're living together now."

The awkward air formed into a mini gray cloud over the two of them as they darted their eyes to anything other than each other.

"Right, um, well," He paused until he remembered his purpose of speaking, "If you want to go get some more food, I know of this muggle market that's on the edge of the forest. I haven't seen any Deatheaters or associates there when I've gone; so I assume we'll be safe."

Hermione remembered her stomach and immediately killed the awkwardness. "Really? Sounds great! Merlin, I'm hungry."

His grey eyes gave a soft smile, "I can tell."

Many trees were becoming bare as Hermione and Draco walked through the forest to get to Draco's market. They walked in silence, neither really knowing what to say to each other. Until recently, they thought of each other as enemies. What were they now? Friends? More like just roommates—but who knows what the future will hold? **Author's Note: *maniacal laugh* I do.**

As they travelled through the forest, Hermione's surroundings seemed more and more familiar—trails created by human traffic, open spaces surrounded by trees that wouldn't allow sunlight, carvings on trunks marking time passing by; and suddenly she remembered why she was originally in the forest, and ultimately, with none other than Draco Malfoy. Two boys of raven and red hair popped into her head as she became lost in thought.

"_Is it wrong to be thankful that Ron left instead of you?"_

"_Harry! He's our best friend! How can you even say that?"_

_He sighed heavily. "Let's face it, throughout our years together, fighting goblins and Deatheaters, trying to prepare me for the Tri-wizard tournament, and even relationship problems, you always had the answers—or at least the resources to find them. Ron even said himself that we wouldn't have gotten this far without you."_

_Flushing red, she took in the red head actually appreciated her intelligence, contrary to popular belief. "H-he did? But, that's not the point. We worked together when it came down to it. I don't hold this team together."_

"_No, but you sure do help. Be honest, how upset are you that Ron is gone?"_

"_Don't you ever have the audacity to ask that again! You know how I feel about him, Harry." A small tear threatened to leave her eyes. _

_Harry suddenly looked concerned for his best friend. "How exactly do you feel about him?"_

_Her vision became blurry of the "Boy Who Lived"._

"_Mione?"_

"_I would give anything if I could find him right now," she said as the streams started, "He may be a bit daft about certain subjects, and talks with his mouth full almost all the time, and isn't the best about expressing his feelings…but I love him. With all of my heart." She took the back of her hand to wipe some of the tears away, but they refused to stop falling. "But now he's gone," the last word echoed in her ears, "and I didn't even get the chance to tell him."_

_He pushed up his rounded spectacles as he emitted a blank stare, not really sure how to react. "Mione, I'm so sorry, I didn't—I didn't"_

"_I didn't want you to know , because then I'd be acting upon my feelings; like every other girl. I wanted him to see that I was different; I guess, in retrospect, turns out he did. But now it's too late…"_

"Granger, we're going to get back really late if we don't pick up the pace." Draco hesitantly said, finally breaking the silence.

Interrupting her thoughts, she rushed to find a response. "Right; wouldn't want the nargles to come find us, now would we?" She mentally slapped herself after she realized what came out her mouth.

The Slytherin prince softened his tense, nervous mood and sympathetically smiled, "you miss them; don't you?"

A tear fell from her face as she looked down. Why was she crying so much nowadays? "It would seem that way. But to miss those days would be missing everything, including getting harassed about my status by you and your bloody pureblood cronies. Missing those days is naïve anyways, they're not coming back."

He felt a snarl come on, but held it back, realizing how much more he deserved. "That part of me was pure influence of my deadbeat father. A lot of the shit I did and said was just to keep up appearances as a pureblood and a Malfoy," He felt his own name give him a nasty aftertaste, "I realized that what I was doing was wrong," tugging his sleeve over his forearm, "But it was already too late."

Finally looking up at her, he grabbed her hand with both hands. "I know sorry isn't enough, but I truly mean it. I was a pretty shitty person back then, no worse; but I'm trying to do bett-"

Sudden warmth overcame him; it smelled like fresh cinnamon rolls and felt like Christmas morning. He enjoyed being blanketed by this happiness and warmth, and decided he wanted to stay like this for awhile. He closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation and brought it closer to him. By the time he realized what, or rather, who he was holding, she had already let go.

"Thank you; and apology accepted." She warmly smiled. By that time, no more words needed to be exchanged. She slipped his hand into his, wrapped her neck away from the wind picking up, and tugged at him to lead the way.

They walked the rest of the way in silence; although they spoke no words, they allowed their hands to do the talking.


	5. Doe A Deer, A Female Deer

**Yayy me! I updated sooner than you guys probably thought I would *blows raspberry* Take that! But seriously guys, thank you for all the story alerts and favorites. They help motivate me so much to keep updating! That and listening to the film scores of the Harry Potter movies while I write. So keep at it!**

**Disclaimer: I know what I said while I was drunk, but I didn't really keep JK Rowling in my basement and make her write out my ideas. That would be absurd. ;) **

"Well here we are." Draco motioned over to a clearing, marking the front of the muggle farmer's market.

Vendors of all kinds could be heard throughout the market, selling their handmade and homegrown wares. There weren't very many people out due to what the magical world knew as the war and what the muggles knew as high threat organized crimes. Although there was a lack of people to enjoy the merchandise , it seemed like a very welcoming environment nonetheless.

"Fresh organic meats and produce! Nothing but the best!" A young humble farmer yelled while he smiled. His plaid shirt was drenched with sweat from the beaming sun, but he looked happy to be there the same.

"Ooh! Draco! I betcha Icould get some from bangers from him for breakfast." Hermione said as her usual innocent smile morphed itself into a smirk, staring at the farmer glistening with sweat.

"I'm sure that's not all you can get from him," he muttered under his breath.

"Of course I'm not just thinking about breakfast-"

Draco sniggered.

"I'll get enough food for about 2 weeks." Hermione was talking to herself by then, completely missing the blonde's attempt at a sexual inneuendo. He smacked his forehead and slumped behind towards the farmer's stand.

* * *

><p>"Well we're not any bloody closer to destroying these damn horcruxes, even while Hermione was here." Ron glared at the raven haired boy for what seemed like the thousandth time that week.<p>

"Don't you go blaming Hermione on the fact that we haven't destroyed anymore horcruxes. If anything, she's the reason we even have horcruxes to destroy. That's more than you can say." Harry flared back at the redhead, hexing him in his head.

Ron folded his arms in disgust thinking about the insufferable know-it-all he thought he fell in love with. "Yeah well she's not here anymore-"

"No thanks to you."

He growled. "-SO we have to keep going on without us. There are people waiting for us." Thinking back to the family he left behind without even a goodbye. "We need to think. What have we used before to destroy them?"

"Oi" Harry rubbed the back of his neck while he thought. "A basilisk fang and—"

"And what?" Ron sat up in anticipation.

"The sword of Gryffindor." Harry thought out loud.

The red head threw his hands up in the air. "Yeah, because we have the bloody sword of Gryffindor laying around this tent somewhere. The minister said it wasn't Dumbledore's to give to you."

"This coming from the very same minister that has me wanted all over the magical world and is in cahoots with the Dark Lord. We knew what we were doing, and he knew it would help us get it done."

Ron gave an exasperated sigh. "So what do we do now?"

"We look for it."

* * *

><p>It was nightfall by the time Hermione and Draco started heading back to their tent in the middle of the forest. Their hands were filled with groceries for the next 2 weeks, but they always had room to carry their wands; just in case. When she first came to the forest with Harry and Ron, she was always a bit paranoid of what they'd run into considering who they were running from. Tonight however, Hermione wasn't the least bit afraid; not of snatchers, deatheaters, magical creatures, not even the Dark Lord himself; all because a certain blonde haired Slytherin was right next to her. She wasn't one to depend on anyone, especially someone of the opposite sex. But for some reason, with Draco, it felt just right. Even if he was still venting about the farmer from the market.<p>

"I swear, you were going gaga over him, with your big bubbly eyes. There's not one thing in our hands that we didn't get from his stand." Draco fumed, feeling a tinge of protectiveness towards the bushy-brown –now-tame-haired bookworm.

"Why are you getting your knickers in a bunch about it? I can flirt with whomever I damn please, Malfoy. Besides, I wasn't flirting to begin with; it's called being friendly."

"Well you were being a little too friendly if you ask me," The ferret said, folding his arms.

Hermione interjected, "I didn't ask."

The blond's eye turned to a dark steel grey as he looked down to the ground. Why was he even upset at her actions? It's not like they were together. Draco bit his lip hard at his last thought, almost drawing blood. What came over him all of a sudden to make him so… territorial?

Her face snapped quickly from frustration to concern after seeing his eyes shift forcefully to the ground. Did she hurt his feelings? Why was he acting so weird anyways; like a dog over his favorite toy. Her eyes widened at her sudden realization. Did Draco harbor some sort of…feelings for her?

They suddenly heard a branch crack under someone's feet that wasn't their own. In the darkness of the forest, all that could be seen was a patronus in the shape of a doe. _Wait, a patronus? _Hermione thought. _Who else was out there?_

Their minds had synchronized, for they had pulled their wands out simultaneously and started to search for the origin of the patronus.

As they got closer to the doe, they realized that it was standing over a frozen lake. But as soon as they got close enough, it vanished. A crash into the lake could be heard from afar and they quickly ran over to the sound.

"Oh my goodness, someone's jumped in!" Hermione exclaimed, dropping to her knees onto the ice floor and looking for the victim.

Feeling movement under his feet, Draco grabbed for Hermione's hand. "I think I found him. Come on, over there," pointing over to some trees whist running off the frozen floor.

"Why are we hiding? We should be saving them! They're stuck under a floor of ice for Merlin's sake!" she angrily whispered to him.

"We don't know who we would've been saving! We could've just walked into our death for all we know!" he exclaimed back in a hushed tone. The last thing Draco wanted to see was Hermione's body in a mass of blood.

Just as the Slytherin prince was getting lost in his thoughts, a gasp was heard from the lioness as a tuft of raven hair and a faint lightning bolt scar could be seen popping up from the frozen lake.

"Harry? Harry!" Ron exclaimed as he ran over to help his best friend out of the freezing cold water. "What the bloody hell are you doing out here?"

"Followed a patronus…found…" he tried to regain steady breathing as he pulled the word of Gryffindor out the water he just ascended from.

"Merlin." His eyes widened as he realized what this meant for them.

Watching in the distance, Hermione immediately got excited as she too understood what this meant. "They can finally destroy the locket!" she whispered as she looked over to Draco. He gave a empathetic smile but his eyes were clouded with sadness. They both knew that no matter how secluded they were from the war and their world, they still rooted themselves to a side; whether they wanted to or not. Hermione looked back to the past month she spent with the once cold Malfoy to the now understanding, sweet Draco and before her watered eyes threatened to shed a tear, she closed her eyes.

Warmth instantly hit his lips as he realized the cold air wasn't hurting his face anymore. Reaching a hand up, he cupped her face and rubbed his thumb over her cheek gently. As he finally closed his eyes, he felt the feeling just sink in. The tingling beneath his feet, the growing warmth on his lips towards the rest of his body, and the very real Hermione Granger, sharing all their unspoken emotions towards each other through touch. As he lost himself in her, he was abruptly brought back to reality as he felt a stinging tear fall on his face.

"Hermione?"

Her heart ached a thousand times over. "I-I'm sorry; I have to h-help them. I'll miss you." And with another kiss, she vanished from his side and into the clearing towards the frozen lake.

The two boys looked over into the darkness of the woods and saw the missing piece to the golden trio standing at the edge of it with a broken smile.

**So? What'd you guys think? Questions? Concerns? Anything you guys want to happen in the near or distant future? Please review and let me know! I love hearing from you guys!**


	6. Reunited Doesn't Feel So Good

**I'm searching high and low for those reviews guys. C'mon now, I know you got 'em! **

**Thanks so much for the reviews I've gotten so far! They really make me gush! I mean, I never thought I'd be doing stuff like this. But you all bring out the best in me. *smiles* Keep up the good work!**

**Disclaimer: Weasley's are red, Ravenclaw's are blue, I don't own Harry Potter, and neither do you! On to the story then!**

"Hermione!" The two boys excitedly ran over to their friend, throwing their arms around her on each side for a tight hug. That's when the tears finally fell. Her heart ached when she realized her new found friend might be lost forever to her. Over the past month, she had developed, dare she say, _feelings,_ for the once thought Death Eater known as Draco Malfoy. _I could never tell them, _Hermione thought painfully. _They wouldn't hesitate to scold me, probably even shun me, or worse, go looking for him. They'd kill him. _Befriending the Slytherin prince may be something she'd have to take to her grave.

"Thank Merlin you're alive, 'Mione!" The Boy Who Lived spoke through her frizzy hair.

She feigned a smile; for right now, it was the right choice.

* * *

><p>Draco clenched onto the tree trunk until knuckles became even paler than he already was. His eyes were bloodshot from crying and he was in so much pain he wanted to scream, but no sound would escape his lips.<p>

He could count all the times he cried on one hand; his first time on a broom when he was 8, when he lost his once happy father to the whim of Voldemort, when his mother suffered under the Crucius curse before his very eyes, when he was assigned the task of killing his beloved headmaster, and now this.

In such a short amount of time, he fell in love and lost it, all too soon. His pain, frustration, and loneliness got the best of him as he forgot where he was and let out a pained cry.

* * *

><p>"AGHHHHHHHHHHH!"<p>

The Golden Trio's eyes all widened as they sprinted off of the frozen lake and towards their home base.

"So where were you anyways?" Ron queried as they sat in the common area, sipping on hot tea.

Hermione dreaded this question would come. She only had a split second to answer before they became suspicious. She took a long sip of her tea as she conjured up a story.

"A muggle found me laying on the forest floor and took me in to take care of me. When I woke up, she told me how she couldn't have any children so she took me lying there as a sign from God. She was a really sweet woman to let me in," she thought back to her civil conversations with Draco, "Anyways, this morning we went to a farmer's market and on our way back, I saw the doe patronus and decided to follow it, losing her in the process." She made a soft, sad sigh. "I hope she's ok," reminiscing of her blond pale friend who she left in the darkness.

Harry and Ron looked at each other and shrugged, thankfully to her not questioning her further.

"Well now that you're here, we can work on finding and destroying the next Horcruxe. Since we have the sword of Gryffindor now, it'll be much easier to destroy them all," Ron stated matter-of-factly. Harry and Hermione looked at the red head like a unicorn's horn had just grown on top of his head. Ron had definitely matured since she last saw the two of them. _I should run away more often, _she thought.

"Um, right." Hermione said flatly, twiddling her thumbs and looking down. There was an awkward tension fogging up the room. _Guess they're doing just fine without me._ "Any leads on what the next Horcruxe could be?" The lioness looked up to two pairs of blank stares. _I stand corrected._

* * *

><p>When Draco made it back to his tent, he was faced with a mirror to his heart. Darkness. Emptyness.<p>

"C-c-cold" he said out loud, going over to the fireplace and _incendio-_ing the logs. Sitting over on the sofa she had once always occupied, he stared blankly at the flames dancing on the burning wood.

_She's gotten such a hold on me…in such a short time…I mean I knew I didn't hate her anymore, I never truly hated her, just blindly followed my father; but to think that I would ever…love her. Is that even the right word? If someone told me this would happen, I'd tell them they were off their rocker._

_But that's before I took her in. Talked to her. Shared my deepest thoughts with her. _He wondered after today's events if Hermione considered him a friend, maybe even a close friend. He decided that she probably did. He certainly considered _her_ a friend. But that kiss told so much more. He realized that he wanted that kiss not to be the last. He just had to figure out now how to get her back; if it's even possible.

He sighed and went over to a secret cabinet, pulling out a flask of firewhiskey and went back to the sofa to call it a night.

* * *

><p>Hermione slumped over by the tree trunk and let out an unnecessarily loud, troubled sigh.<p>

"Night patrol. Wonderful." Hermione thought out loud. "I _never _had to do night patrol, or any kind of patrol for that matter, when I was with him." A year ago she would never have imagined that she would feel this way about being with him. If anybody had suggested it, she would have called them crazy. But there it was, plain as day. She was crushing on him; hard.

An owl in the distance let out a hoot, and she took this as a sign to just let it out.

She chuckled softly and gave a soft smile. "He who, you ask? Why only the most chivalrous, erudite, and dreamy pureblood of this era." She beamed as she gave this answer to the owl, seeing as it was the only thing around to hear her in the first place. Or was it?

His mouth became agape as he peeked through a slit of the tent at the honey haired Gryffindor he thought he lost his chance with.

"She still likes me!" The red head excitedly whispered to himself. "She really shouldn't talk to herself like that though. It's a bit odd." He shrugged the last tidbit off and satisfyingly headed back to bed.

Pulling her knees towards her chest, she looked down and remembered the events that occurred earlier this evening. "Who am I kidding? Holding on to this silly crush-I practically gave up any chance of ever being with him by running back here! I left him out in the cold, alone, and I expect him to have reciprocated feelings? Ugh. He probably hates me so much now that's it worse than back at Hogwarts." Leaning her hand upon the back of her hand, she _humph_ed. "But I had to come back. Back to reality; to the light...AGH! I'm practically committing suicide by coming back to the war! What am I thinking?" She whimpered as tears threatened to fall from her chocolate eyes. "I want Draco back."

**I know; you guys hate me for this filler chapter. But I had to do it! Let me know what kinds of things you guys want to happen in the story, even though I have a basic idea of where I wanna go with this, I'm doing this for you guys. So ideas are encouraged. In other words, REVIEW!**

**Pretty please? With a butterbeer and creamy foam on top?**


	7. A Walk in the Park?

**AHHH! All these new followers make me smile so much! You all really keep me going through my days, it's quite amazing. To show my appreciation, I'm going to reply to some of my reviewers from chapter 6. Maybe that'll make you guys want to review more *wink wink nudge nudge***

**Zer0us: ****I think you got the right idea with Draco and Hermione's future, but I'm not gonna spoil anything. And it's ok, I used to not have anything to do (that's how I got into this). Oh! As for the cursing, yes they did, but in their later years. Also why it's rated M. Don't wanna corrupt anymore minor than I already have.**

**Prurient penmanship:**** Ah, my favorite reviewer. Thank you for the compliment, I'm glad you didn't think it was a filler. I'll try to surprise as best as I can ;)**

**Thug2Darnell: ****kohai, there already IS a love triangle. Draco and Ron both love Hermione, but Hermione only loves Draco. Maybe I could make Hermione pretend to love Ron to keep up appearances…nah. I love Dramione too much lol. Don't worry, it'll still be good.**

**SasoriHime05:**** I love your reactions! It's reviews like this that I'd kill for. Fear not my dear, tis my fanfiction. Draco and Hermione, WILL end up together in the end; for better or worse ;)**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing but the plot; I barely own that, seeing as I'm using scenes from the story to twist Draco and Hermione's fate. Ah well. On to the story! **

"_I'm sorry…I'll miss you."_

Her voice lingered in dream turned nightmare. He tossed and turned more violently as he started to yell in his sleep.

"_No! Hermione…please, don't leave me! Please!" _He fell off his bed and turned into a sobbing heap on his floor, from what seemed to be the thousandth nightmare this week.

"I love you." He cried out in broken sobs, muffled into his covers.

He struggles with all his might to get up and face the sunlight streaming thorugh his tent window. Finally making it out to the common area, he slumped over to the sofa and picked up his bottle, downing every last drop.

That's what his week and a half almost two weeks had consisted of since he'd last seen his belovéd lioness. Nightmares, weakness, and heavy drinking. It seemed that nothing could get him out of this depresséd state.

* * *

><p>"Why so quiet, 'Mione?" Ron awkwardly nudged her with his shoulder.<p>

"Just thinking about the deathly hallows; ya know, whether they could actually be real or not," she quickly fibbed.

"Oh…right. I'm just glad we got away from Luna's crazy father alive. I mean honestly, can we trust no one anymore?" He threw his hands in the air, glad they were finally filling the silence.

"Luna was kidnapped; he was desperate. Perfectly understandable." She said matter-of-factly, just to get him to shut up. It seemed to be working.

"Oh…well, I guess you're right," he looked down nervously and gave a pregnant pause. "Well, it's too quiet in here anyhow. I'll turn on the radio," he quipped, thinking it would get her out of her serious mood.

Light hearted song after song played while they sat in silence, the air fogging up with more and more timid tension between the two. As the next song started to play however, Hermione found that irony couldn't be any more evil than right now.

_I'll be your dream, I'll be __your wish, I'll be your fantasy_

Her eyes grew wide.

_I'll be your hope; I'll be your love, be everything that you need_

"…_yeah, I realized those words were gonna mean something to me someday…"_

Her heart swelled from the tears that begged to be set free, but her Gryffindor pride wouldn't let her break down. She's tried so hard to forget him since they saw each other that night; but nothing would give her a break. If it wasn't the lack of profound conversation; the smell of breakfast that allured her every morning definitely did it.

"I still haven't gotten my eggs and bangers," she chuckled as the dam that held her tears opened up.

"Umm, Hermione?" The youngest male Weasley cocked his head to the side as he watched her sway back and forth to the muggle song he didn't know; crying and laughing at the same time.

"That muggle has made her mental," he thought out loud. Little did he know, her complex emotions that were spewing out simultaneously were due to quite the opposite of the magical spectrum.

* * *

><p>Draco was tired of the silence. Before her, he wouldn't have minded it; he liked being alone to his thoughts. But now, all it did was drive him crazy, reminding him of the lack of her presence. He staggered over to the radio and turned it higher when he thought he recognized the melody. Oh the irony.<p>

_I will be strong, I will be faithful_

_'Cause I'm counting on_

_A new beginnin'_

_A reason for livin'_

_A deeper meanin', yea_

"_So you were looking for a new beginning as well…" her thoughts escaped through her lips._

"_Is that why I found you laying in the woods that night?_

He threw the now empty bottle of firewhiskey at the fireplace and got up, raged and still a bit buzzed.

She threw the book that was in her lap across the room and struggled to walk straight, vision blurred from her tears.

"I have to get out of here," he tottered as he threw on something to wear to walk out the tent, uncertain of his destination.

* * *

><p>"I'm off my rocker," she said aloud as she grabbed her purse and made sure her wand was in her pocket, speed walking out the door. "I'll be back!" she yelled out the boys still occupying the room, leaving them with dumbfounded faces. She knew exactly where she had to go.<p>

"Oi! Where the bloody hell do you think you're going?!" Harry called out; realizing what just went down as he popped his head from the fridge. No response; she was long gone.

"She said she'd be back," Ron stupidly piped up, unaware of the severity of the situation.

"Yeah, if snatchers don't get to her first."

The two boys grabbed their wands and bolted out the door in search of their endangered friend.

* * *

><p>She looked for any signs of familiarity in the forest; trees near open spaces, human made trails…anything. She smiled when she thought of an excellent idea.<p>

"_I'll be your dream, I'll be your wish_

_I'll be your fantasy_

_I'll be your hope, I'll be your love_

_Be everything that you need…"_

Was it just him or was that bloody song following him? He looked around with a sense of paranoia, the firewhiskey still lingering throughout his body.

"_I'll love you more with every breath_

_Truly, madly, deeply do—" _she hummed the in-betweens of the song.

Wait. Was that a female singing? The beautiful voice compelled his body to search for it's origin.

"_I will be strong, I will be faithful_

_'Cause I'm counting on"_

"_A new beginnin'," he sang along._

"_A reason for livin'"_

"_A deeper meanin',"_

"_Yeah…"_ they harmonized as they looked into each other's eyes across the forest.

"Hermione." He gave a goofy grin.

"Draco. Well, well, well," they both quickly turned over to see Scabior, a head snatcher, and his lackies not too far from them. "I see you disappeared not because you were a blood traitor, but to redeem your loyalty by becoming a snatcher by yourself. So who's this tall glass of water ?" he smirked in her direction, getting closer and showing off the decay in his teeth.

"Hermi-oof!" The two boys stopped in their tracks at the sight of the infamous Draco Malfoy and a group of what seemed to be snatchers standing not too far behind.

Their reunion had quickly drawn to a close. Draco looked towards an open part of the forest and Hermione sadly took the hint.

"Run!" Hermione yelled as she started to run herself, away from her beloved; for her safety and his.

"Well don't just hang about," Scabior grinned, "snatch 'em."

Draco followed suit with the snatchers, mostly to keep an eye on Hermione; but also to keep his reputation. He had a lot of explaining to do if this ended like he thought it would.

The chase became heated as spells were thrown back and forth, _stupefys_ and _expelliarmuses _alike. The trio hopped over branches and logs as the snatchers got closer behind on their trail.

Draco stumbled over tree roots and barely caught up with the hostile group, still trying to decipher what just happened between everyone and what was to become of him and Hermione.

Harry tripped over a rock and went tumbling down a hill, all while having one of his telepathic moments with Voldemort. Hermione quickly acted and sent a spell towards Harry's face as she ran towards him.

"The elder wand, it exists! A-and he's l-looking for it!" Harry whispered in a panicked state. Her eyes widened at his discovery. Two snatchers separated them from each other and examined Harry's face. "What's your name, ugly?" the snatcher lackie yelled at Harry, breath smelling of death and old fish.

"Dudley. Vernon Dudley." Scabior grabbed him by the front of his hair and smirked when he saw a light lightning bolt scar under his tuft of hair. "Change of plans…we're not taking this one to the ministry."

"Draco!" Scabior gritted his teeth, demanding his prescence.

"Oi! I'll have you know that I will not have some lowlife imbecile that's trying to prove himself to the Dark Lord boss me around! I am still a Malfoy!" he slurred and hiccupped as he staggered over to Scabior, sticking his finger in his face.

Scabior grabbed the drunken ferret by his robes and looked him straight in the eye. "Very well then. Will you do the honors of taking us to the Manor?"

Draco sobered up real quick. Taking them to the manor meant Hermione, Ron, and Harry were in grave peril. Especially Hermione, with her "tainted" blood. Voldemort loathed her kind the most. But he had to keep an appearance. He'd find a way to free them when they got there. Hopefully.

Her panic attack elevated as she heard what Scabior just said. The manor? As in Malfoy Manor? They were as good as dead; especially her. She could just see Bellatrix jumping for joy at the thought of killing another mudblood.

"You two, grab them," Draco now took charge as he got everyone ready to apparate, "I got this one," he grabbed Hermione from behind and held her lightly by the neck, looking hostile to keep up the façade.

"Don't worry," we whispered in her ear, "We'll find a way out of this."

She pretended to put her head down in defeat, her hair in her face. "You promise?"

He kissed the flesh at the back of her neck softly, "I promise."

**Read and Review. Please?**


	8. Malfoy Manor

**Hey Everybody! I've been thinking about you guys non-stop, so I decided to post another chapter! Thanks to Z Ray from my public speaking class**

**for helping me out with this chapter. On with the show! Er, I mean story. Hehe**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, don't you think I'd have something better to do with my life than write fanfiction? That's what I thought.**

Malfoy Manor looked as pretentious and diabolical as its inhabitants for the past century. The outside was covered in excessive lavish décor around windows and opulent gargoyles on every edge. It seemed as if they made alterations on the house to show all who entered just how much money they truly had.

"To think I was once proud of being a part of this family" Draco whispered as they walked toward the Death Eater headquarters. Hermione lifted her head a little to signal that she was listening. If only he could see her face right now; she looked like a patient in an insane asylum, pain and fear etched on her face and old dried tears creating a pathway for the new ones.

"Proud or not; you're still a Malfoy," she whispered angrily. She's seen the other side of him; she _knew_ he was capable of standing up for himself. That's why he ran aw-wait. That's right. _That's_ why he ran away from it all; he didn't know how to stand up for himself, to fight against the ideals of his friends or family. _Still a Slytherin_, she thought, _slithering around to avoid the problems in life_.

He could hear the iciness in her tone, and by the sound of it, if they got out of there alive, he was in big trouble. He knew they shouldn't have been in this situation in the first place. If he hadn't been trying to keep his reputation, they wouldn't be on their way to the manor right now. Wait a second. If Hermione hadn't ran off in the first place, they would be safe and sound in his tent cuddling by the fire. But no, she had to go off and be all noble helping out Scarhead and Weaselbreath. _Still a Gryffindor_, he thought, _always trying to be a martyr._

As they reached the front door, Scabior took it upon himself to knock, proudly grinning from ear to ear. Peter Pettigrew, the sniveling little rat he was, spoke to no one on the other side of the door, as he opened it and yelled out to Narcissa Malfoy, the woman of the house. She arrived in a much rehearsed, elegant manner at first, but when she saw her beloved only son, all façades fell apart.

She moved Hermione out of the way, into the arms of another snatcher, and touched Draco's Face in amazement, not believing he was actually there in the flesh. She suddenly hugged him tight, throwing Draco off completely. Why was she making her feeling completely so transparent to the world? He wasn't used to seeing her like this and it broke his heart to see it now. He heard sniffling in his shoulder and a muffled voice.

"I thought I had lost you," the elder Malfoy muffled through her son's clothes.

Draco had to release his nervous tension. She may be an aristocratic pureblood, but she was still a mother. Losing a child, especially an only child, isn't something that one could be calm about.

It seemed that Hermione and Draco's reunion wasn't the only one to be interrupted today, for not too soon after, Bellatrix Lestrange came prancing down the hall to the open door.

"Oh Draco, so good to see you," she started nonchalantly "I see you brought some friends for us to play with," she said with an evil smirk displayed on her face. Everyone knew her definition of fun was highly distorted. "Ooh, this should be especially fun," looking straight at Hermione, "Torturing the bitch of The Boy Who Lived."

"The only bitch around here is you," Ron sneered as he spit towards Bellatrix, "You're not laying a hand on Hermione."

"Oh I won't, will I?" she devilishly smirked, showing a shard of her rotting smile back at Ron.

Bellatrix grabbed Hermione harshly by the hair and she cried out, fresh tears falling from her face. "You two, take their wands and take them to the dungeon," pointing to Harry and Ron, "and Draco, I don't feel like touching this filth. Hold onto her and come with me to the drawing room."

The anger between Hermione and Draco had faltered and in turn the fear of how they were going to get out of this mess grew like a tropical storm. Bellatrix had a bit of a skip in her step at the whole situation. Torturing people was her forté, especially mudbloods.

She whipped around to face Draco and Hermione, quicker than a flash.

"_Petrificus Totalus!" _She giggled wildly at her frozen form, Hermione stuck with a face of shock.

"Let the fun begin."

* * *

><p>Harry and Ron were thrown on the cold dirty dungeon floor, leaving scrapes on their faces.<p>

"How the bloody hell are we gonna get out of this mess?! And with Hermione up there!"

A blood curdling scream could be heard from upstairs

"Hermione!" Ron screamed out, banging on the dungeon door as if it would let him free.

"She'll get free, have faith in her," a voice said from the darkness. The boys turned around and Luna Love Lovegood, Mr. Olivander, Dobby and Griphook the goblin turned up from the darkness.

"It is very good to see Harry Potter again." Dobby said with a smile.

"Luna! Dobby! Mr. Olivander!" Harry exclaimed in glee, knowing that people close to him were alive and well.

Mr. Olivander grabbed his side and slowly collapsed to the floor, causing everyone to drop to their knees (except Griphook, because he was already short enough) and care for him the best they could.

"Wait, I think I know a way to get us out of this place," Harry started, "Dobby, you can apparate around this manor, yes?

"Dobby can apparate sir."

"Ok good, so here's my plan."

* * *

><p>"Now, let me ask you again, how did you get into my vault at Gringotts?" Bellatrix asked fiercely as she crucioed Hermione on the floor yet again.<p>

Fire tipped daggers seemed to have pierced her everywhere and forced another deafening scream and whimper to escape from her lips.

Draco tried with all his strength to hold back the tears he felt for Hermione. He was being so weak for just standing on the sidelines to save his reputation.

Narcissa saw the look of deep thought, fear, and depression on her only son's face. She realized that while her son was away, he not only became a different person but found a love as well. Understanding this, she knew this way the last place he wanted to be.

If it wasn't to ensure his family's safety, he would've assaulted his aunt Bella by now and escaped with Hermione, back to their quaint little tent in the woods.

She gave a light squeeze of the shoulder and whispered towards him, not facing any particular direction. "Go on, we'll be fine here. Just make sure you find me immediately after this war so I know you and her are safe."

_Her?_ A soft smile played on this face; he knew who _her_ was. Draco took his mother's blessing and soared with a new motivation. He checked his pocket for Harry and Ron's wands before he made another move.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix screamed again as she caused another ear piercing scream to escape Hermione's lips, tears flooded down her face from the pain coursing through her body.

"Expelliarmus!" Draco screamed towards Bellatrix, disarming her and sending her back a bit. Harry, Ron and the rest of the prisoners had come up at the perfect time and witnessed Draco picking Hermione's lifeless body off the ground and a disarmed Bellatrix coming towards them at full speed. Dobby came in front of the group and mischievously winked at Harry. In a snap, the shiny crystal chandelier had fallen around a crowd of Death Eaters coming to attack. Dobby begins to apparate the group of prisoners, Draco and Hermione, but Bellatrix would not have it. She threw her dagger towards the elf just as they disappeared.

* * *

><p>Through the stretch and pull of apparition, the boys' creams could be heard, one after another.<p>

"What the bloody hell are you doing here, Malfoy?"

"Saving Hermione's life again!"

"You were the reason we were getting snatched!"

"If Hermione hadn't come back to you guys none of this would have bloody happened!"

"What?!"

A twist and turn of their bodies and a thud to the wet sandy floor came all of the prisoners of Malfoy Manor, including a very disconcerted, panicked, Draco Malfoy carrying a lifeless, bloody lioness. Tears came flooding down his face onto hers as he grabbed onto his love with fervor.

"Hermione!"


	9. Bound to You

**Hey there everybody! Here I am giving you all another lovely chappie, because I love you guys sooooo much! And you know, I feed off the wonderful reviews you leave *wink wink, nudge nudge*. The title is inspired by Christina Aguilera's "Bound to You". She's quite a rolemodel to me actually, vocally and lyrically. And gorgeous too! ANYWAYS…Here's chapter 9!**

**Disclaimer: *whimpering* Harry Potter and the wonderful wizarding world that he lives in belongs to JK Rowling. I wish the stuff I thought up made as much money as hers did.**

The distraught Slytherin prince looked up at the two Gryffindors with anxious animosity. Love had made him vulnerable this time, but he was ready to face anyone who got in the way of him and his lioness again; especially her so-called friends.

"What do you mean if she hadn't come back? You knew where she was this whole time? You been spying on us for Voldemort, haven't you?!" Harry screamed in a pained tone, seeing Hermione's lifeless body in the enemy's arms. _Of course he would think this was about Voldemort and the war, _Draco rolled his eyes.

"You stupid oaf! She was with me while she was gone. I took care of her! She only came back because she knew you guys needed her help. If Weaselbreath here hadn't gone and made her cry though, she wouldn't have almost frozen to death in the forest. She was safer AND happier with me." he retorted sharply.

"Why were you in the forest in the first place?" the fiery red head inquired with suspicion.

Draco's silence was immediately filled with Luna's whimpering that made every one's eyes dart to the bleeding house elf that lay in her arms.

"Dobby..." Harry was immediately stuck between a rock and a hard place. Looking back and forth at Hermione and Dobby made him want to break down, seeing his world slowly crumble around him. First Sirius, Dumbledore, Hedwig, and now Hermione and Dobby. He fought the tears back because of the presence of a certain Slytherin.

Draco stared at Harry, watching his internal struggle of shades of green in his eyes. He realized how much his former house elf meant to him, and how he didn't want to seem like he favored one over the other. The two caught eyes and Draco gave him a nod that told him that there was an understanding between the two. This simple gesture would be the beginning of a new friendship.

"I've got her; don't worry," he told Harry, and the Chosen One solemnly walked over to the lifeless house elf and fell to his knees, silently letting the tears fall. However, Ron wasn't fazed by Harry's ease of trust and seethed at the blond holding "his woman". Ron walked over to Draco and Hermione and gave a dirty look.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you but the feelings are unrequited," Ron said to him matter-of-factly. Draco looked up and glared at red head, face flushing red at his ignorant cockiness.

"I didn't know the likes of you were capable of such difficult words, Weasely," he responded in a cool-headed tone as to not show his yearning to hurt the young man that stood before him. "What makes you think her feelings aren't the same?"

"I heard her talking about me the other night while she was on guard duty," he said proudly.

"Oh really? Then how come she ran away from someone who she supposedly loved? Why is it that for nights on end I heard her yelling in her sleep about much she regretted ever having feelings for someone who showed little to no reciprocation and on top of that degraded and ostracized her for looking for comfort in her time of grieving, which by the way, you caused that too."

"That's a lot coming from a pure-blood supremacist like you." He raged back, sticking his finger a little too close to Draco's face.

"I was under the influence of my father and the Dark Lord, which if you haven't noticed, I've changed the way I think to fit my maturity. What's your excuse?" Draco took Ron's tomato face as a sign that he won this battle. He went in his pocket and regretted grabbing their wands for them, but thought back and knew Hermione would want it to be this way. "Here," he threw the wands towards them, "_You_ can hate me all you want," focusing his attention on Ron, "but I'm here to stay, for her. So shut it up and take it."

He stood up with Hermione in his arms bridal style and started walking towards the cottage by the sea that they landed on. As he finally was out of sight by the two Gryffindors, he let his tears rush down his face as the only thing that was on his mind was whether she was OK. Only time would tell.

A red head quite similar to the youngest male Weasley opened the door with a petite framed blond clinging behind him. His eyes widened when he realized who was in front of him.

"Oh my god, Hermione. What are you doing with her, Malfoy?" Bill tried to cover up the concern in his deep voice.

"Never mind me, I come in peace. Just please, is there somewhere we can lay her down? She's been out for a while." Tears stained his porcelain skin, as he tried to hold more from flowing.

"There is guest room up ze stairs to ze left," Fleur said in her broken English.

"I pray she's alright," Bill solemnly stated, leading Draco up to the guest room.

"Only time will tell," Draco whispered to himself.

Groggy eyes slotted open to take in the surroundings that she found herself in. High ceilings and wall were coated with soft floral wallpaper and separated by wooden beams. Simple wooden furniture was placed around the bed she laid and she decided that she was safe and wanted to crawl back under the covers. The sight to her right stopped her from anything else she planned on doing.

Platinum blond hair covered a scarred, sleeping face. He looked so at peace with the world while he lay there, despite his uncomfortable sleeping position. She placed a hand on her head due to the current throbbing and remembers how she got in her current predicament. The dried blood on her forearm covered the word that Bellatrix Lestrange decided to etch into her. Mudblood.

It's how all of this started anyways, right? Despite her blood status, she was a brilliant witch and decided to befriend the famous Boy Who Lived. She knew there were people out there that hated her, but she was too naive to care at the time. All she knew was she loved learning and was good at it, especially when it came to magic. It's why she was tormented for six years, why she ran away from the one she supposedly loved. Why she ran into him. Despite the pain, the struggles, the almost death experiences she's faced; she wouldn't regret her heritage. She wouldn't be here otherwise.

The tears ran down her face as she realized he had probably been sleeping there for quite a while, waiting for her to wake up. She wore a soft smile for the Slytherin prince. He hadn't even cleaned himself up from the battle they had escaped. And was that, sand on his clothes? They must be near some body of water, she thought. She's just glad they're alive and safe. Despite the anger she harbored for him before for being such a coward, she had fallen for him. As had he.

Softly placing her hand upon his, his eyelids fluttered open; steel grey eyes meeting caramel brown. He gave a thankful smile and let happy tears fall as she returned the greeting.

"I'm so glad that you're-" Hermione's sentence was cut off by warmth upon her lips. The shock wore off quickly as she fluttered her eyes closed and melted in this kiss. The kiss flowed through every inch of her body like warm liquid; rich, molten, filling every crevice. She found herself holding on to his arms for balance, and him pulling her even closer. Fervor and lust was driven into each tug of lips and stroke of tongue as their breathing got heavier; finally releasing each other's lips to catch some air. Draco placed his forehead against hers, tears still falling down his grungy pale face.

"I thought I lost you." He whispered with his eyes closed, making her feel every drop of sincerity he pushed into his words.

She hugged him tightly, allowing herself to cry as well, tears falling on his lobe as her soft shattered voice whispered in his ear.

"I thought you went back to your old ways...I'm glad...that you didn't. I don't know what I would do. I'm not going anywhere else without you." She never wanted to leave his sight again, and she was determined to make it her prerogative. Draco felt her smile creep up on the side of his ear and pulled away to get a better look at her, sweeping the side of her face with the back of his delicate fingers. He placed a kiss on her forehead and no sooner than that was done she pulled him down for another warming kiss.

Harry and Ron peeked through Hermione's bedroom as to not wake her; but when they were faced with the scene occurring before them, they could not help but make their presence known.

"Bloody hell."


	10. Loose Ends

**Hey hey hey guys! I don't know if you guys will happy with me or upset with me for having a spark of inspiration to write this chapter, because it's so short! But I feel it's important to the plot. I hope you guys do too. As always, read and review please!**

**Disclaimer: I think you guys already know how I don't get paid for this, it's just my sick mind twisting the world of Harry Potter into my fantasy-land.**

Reality crashed on Hermione's euphoric state as she heard the red head's voice. Eyes popping open, she stopped what she was doing, but didn't dare move any farther from the blonde she just claimed as her own. Ron's glare faltered into a look of disappointment as tears threatened to leave his eyes. The only one he ever loved, was now lost to the enemy.

Harry decided to break the awkward silence between the four. "It's good to see you're doing better, 'Mione. We weren't sure how much longer we could hold on to hope," he gave a genuine smile to assure Hermione there was no sarcasm.

She turned a tint of red remembering they way they caught her and Draco. "Thank you, Harry," she remembered her disoriented state upon waking up earlier, "where are we?"

"Bill and Fleur's house. They offered it as a safe house for the Order during the war," Ron spoke in a soft yet indifferent tone, trying not to show the anger and hurt through his voice.

"Oh wonderful; we all made it out there safe then," She cracked a soft smile.

"Well, not all of us," Harry croaked a bit. He didn't want to be reminded in the slightest. "We lost...Dobby…"

Putting a hand to her mouth and stopping the threatening tears, Draco felt it was time for him to fill his role as comforter with a consoling hug. Ron stiffened at this display of affection and Harry held him back, deeming him potentially dangerous to the budding couple.

"Hey, um, Draco?" Harry grabbed the back of his neck in distress as he struggled to make a smooth intervention, "I think Hermione and Ron have some things to work out. I'm going to get you caught up, yeah?" giving the Slytherin prince a knowing look as he started for the door.

Draco gave a big huff but complied to his now ex arch enemy, knowing full well what they needed to talk about. He gave Hermione a comforting squeeze on the knee and followed after Harry out the door.

After that, the room became so quiet you could hear a rat piss on cotton.

They avoided each other's eyes, darting from object to object, appreciating the detail of the wallpaper, searching for figures in the clouds, anything they could to forget they were in the same room together. But Ron could never keep quiet for too long...

"How long?"

She finally looked up and saw his tear streaked face, immediately wishing she hadn't. "How long what?" she softly replied.

"You know bloody well what!" He raised his voice a little, getting closer to her bed, "How long have you and that bloody ferret been getting a leg over on each other?"

"Ronald! I haven't sl-"

"This wanker has been on our bad side for years, years! He's treated us like the lowest of the low for no reason whatsoever. And you wanna roll in the sack with him? He's a bloody Death eater for Merlin's sake! He serves Voldemort, he's evil, and he tortures and kills your kind!

She was _tired_ of his bollocks. "And what exactly is my kind, Ronald?" she paused for a reply she knew she wasn't receiving, "Your ignorant, impulsive rants towards me will not be tolerated any longer! You're the whole reason I left in the first place; with the very same derogatory term that we're fighting for! Or did you forget on your time off from horcruxe hunting how you were raised; who you grew up with. The reason why I'm with him is because I see the good in him; I've seen how much his own ideas have developed since our first year. How much he's matured," she kept back the tears with every ounce of strength Godric Gryffindor had given her, "...and I wish I could say the same about you. I loved you before I even knew what love is. I gave you my all and you didn't even acknowledge that I was a girl let alone decent enough for your eyes until third year. AND YOU STILL SNOGGED LAVENDER IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE HOUSE! You think I was prepared for that? You think I could handle my heart being crumbled in my face on top of some metaphorical spaghetti bolognese for everyone to enjoy?! I was hurt; and you couldn't even see it. I'm with him, indirectly, because of you. And before you ever accuse me of sleeping with someone again, you better get through that thick head of yours a sense of who you're talking to." And with that, the first tear fell, breaking her facade of strength. Ron knew he had gone too far.

He slumped onto the foot of the bed and bowed his head down. "Is it too late to say I'm sorry?"

Her glare at him slightly softened as she realized his understanding of the severity of his actions. Accepting that there is a problem is the first step.

"We'll see what you can do about to fix your ways."

**So what'd you guys think? Let me know in a review please!**


	11. Blibbering Humdingers

**Hello my lovelys! I hope you guys aren't too mad at me for this uuber long wait. I hope I satisfied some sort of Dramione fix by udpating. It would make me all giddy inside to know. **

**A special dedication and thanks to Prurient penmanship, my dedicated reviewer and good friend, for keeping me going through his wonderful, detailed reviews and keeping me up to finish this chapter tonight. Even though I'm still mad at him for not telling me that he could hear me singing _  
><strong>

**And now, what you've all been waiting for!**

**Disclaimer: Oh ya'll already know these characters aren't mine, I just twisted the plot for my sick and twisted pleasure. Onward!**

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><p>Sleep had become a foreign concepts to the sixth and seventh years at Hogwarts. As soon as they found out about their former potions professor becoming the Headmaster, they started to draft some new soldiers. Dumbledore's Army had expanded four times its original size with Ginny, Neville, and thankfully Luna as the masterminds behind operation: Battle of Hogwarts. Each leader took on a group by specialty and made it perfectly clear that needed to be prepared for the worst of the worst.<p>

"If you think that the beasts that rule the forbidden forest are the most dangerous you can come up against, you got another thing coming," the youngest Weasley stood amongst a group of second years that looked on the verge of tears.

"They're people just like us, people who believe their side is the way things should be. The right way. But we have to prove to them that we will stop at nothing to make sure the light comes out victorious...and alive," Neville had raised his eyebrows as he whispered the last parts, causing a fourth year girl to gasp and a fifth year to pass out from a panic attack.

Luna paced, as unorthodox as a worried pacer could be, with her head tilted to the left; unsure of how to break it to her dear friends and fellow students. Death had already influenced her life heavily, and yet no one knew, other than Harry and the thestrals, that is. She had to prepare them for the inevitable, because no matter who won; everyone was going to lose.

"Does anyone know what a thestral is?" Her dreamy tone slightly subdued by her teaching moment and this solemn time. Raised eyebrows and confused faces threw themselves at Luna and then amongst each other to voice their bewilderment. A small voice tried to make itself known despite the tears that could be heard with it.

"I do," the tiny hufflepuff stood.

Luna gave a sympathetic smile and stuck out her hand to motion the girl to come closer. After Luna and Abigail, as her name turned out to be, ended their embrace, Abigail turned to face her peers.

"We're near them all the time when we're coming to Hogwarts, only, you can't see them unless you've witnessed a death," she said softly as she shedded a tear. "He Who Must Not Be Named...killed my parents when he was rising to power again. Called them a waste of magic and matter..." she faltered off, putting her head down.

"They're quite frightening," Luna stated in her airy voice, "but only if you're not prepared to face them."

The wide eyed faces grew as the confusion became like wildfire. Luna huffed softly and patted Abigail's back to sit down.

"What I'm trying to say is, no matter who wins this war, everyone is going to lose. Some of your best friends and classmates may fall under the hand of Voldemort and his followers; but you cannot- CAN NOT- lose your focus. Otherwise, everything they died fighting for, will be for naught." Her eyes prickled with threatened tears from memories of her mother's and Dobby's lives flashing before her eyes. A sniffle from the group of little soliders-in-training brought her back to the present. She softly smiled at them and looks around the room.

"Blibbering Humdingers," said excitedly, "looks like you will all come out ok."

Ginny smiles from afar at her whimsical yet strangely empowering friend.

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><p>"So wait, Voldemort has split his <em>soul <em>to keep himself alive all this time?" Draco sputtered a bit of hot tea, causing an amused Hermione to shyly chuckle.

"Honestly man, you'd think someone would know at least basic info about his bloody house guests," Ron tried to harbor his condescending tone, but the look on Hermione's face as he turned her direction said that she wasn't having it.

"Yes," the lioness stated in her oh too familiar scholarly tone, "that's how he came back during the Triwizard tournament and that's how he will fall."

"If we can even find them," Harry huffed.

"We will find and destroy all of them, Harry. The prophecy says so," she said matter of factly, trying to get a smile out of him.

"The prophecy states that only one shall live. We don't know which one." The Chosen one could be so frustrating when he was being pessimistic.

"Well then, we'll make the bloody prophecy work in our favor, yeah? We'll find and destroy all of horcruxes and defeat Voldemort." The Slytherin prince tried to lift everyone's spirits, but all it got him was a comforting squeeze on the arm from his lioness. He knew it was gonna take awhile for them to accept his input, well, the boys anyway.

"It's been a long night," Harry said, rubbing the back of his neck in distress. He stood up slowly patting Ron on the back while on his back to his room. Ron Getting the signal, gave Draco a look of disdain and followed suit with Harry.

"They'll come around. They may be stubborn arses at first, but this mission means everything to us-especially Harry. Just give a bit a bit of time, ok?" she comforted her Slytherin prince with a kiss on the cheek as she headed towards her room.

"Oh and Draco," he looked up to face the sexiest smirk on a woman-ever, "...if you get any bad dreams, or need some company...you know where to find me." And with a final wink, she disappeared up into the darkness.

"Wow," was all his throat could muster up after that inconceivable moment. Hermione surely has changed over the years. Watching from afar, she's grown from a prude, emotional, know-it-all bookworm to a strong, sexy, independent woman. Even so, some habits never die.

Tiptoeing down the steps in a dark emerald lace nightgown was none other than the object of his affection. Merlin, did her sexyness just tenfold or what?

"Um, I forgot my books," she sheepishly said, a blush creeping across her face as she looked at him through the bangs of her hair. She quickly snatched the books off the couch and carfully ran back up the stairs, but not without the fabric of her nightgown going up just enough to see her matching underwear. Hot damn.

Realizing the tightening of his pants, Draco decided it was his turn to start up the steps, possibly to "bump" into his little seductress. Not before another presence stopped his path, however.

"Come back to tease me more, Princ-uhm-uh-Potter" he quickly looked at the steps with fervor as his face turned bright red.

Harry slight frustration switched to amusement as he let Draco hear a chuckle. "Thanks mate, but I wouldn't lead you on just to your disappointment when you realize you can't get any," he patted his new friend on the shoulder.

He coughed a bit to get rid of the embarrassment and regain his composure. Before he could even get a word out though, he was caught off guard, yet again.

"I just wanted to thank you; for saving Hermione and bringing her back to us. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. She's like a sister to me, and you can only imagine how hard it was to go through my days without knowing her whereabouts." Harry sputtered out bashfully, making sure he didn't wake anyone else up with his blubbering.

"I can imagine how hard it was; but I didn't intend on bringing her back," he sternly retorted. Harry's shock was apparent, but he kept his mouth shut to hear the rest.

"We were in the woods on our way back from a market when we saw it. A doe patronus."

"You saw it too then," Draco gave Harry a look that told him to let him finish the story.

"Hermione wanted to follow it because she said it looked familiar, but we heard a big splash and it disappeared. I made her hide behind a tree because we didn't know whose side they were on; and then you jumped out. She was so overwhelmed with joy to see you and Ron still hunting without her, so who was I to stop her just because I enjoyed her company?"

"Someone who loves her," Harry smiled, "and she loves back. I saw the pain on your face at the beach, and the way she looked at you when she finally woke up in her room. I may not have liked the idea of it before, but if she's happy, that's what's important. You have my blessing. If you were ever really looking for it."

"Thanks, mate."

"Now, I'm gonna head back to bed and pretend that you didn't call me princess when I came down here." The Boy Who Wouldn't Die chuckled and elbowed the once arrogant prat now ally to the light side.

Draco finally showed off a genuine smile and laughed back, "Please do," as he headed to his respective room.

**R&R PLEASE!**


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